The Walk
by RJ Lewis the II
Summary: World War Two would be demise of them all. See profile for author note.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** This is just a random idea that won't get out of my head. I'm not sure how far I'll take this, and as of now it has no actual plot to it. Other than I know how it starts and how it reflects upon the episodes, but that's about all. So bear with me on this and please review. Also, I don't remember exact lines from the movie, so I'm sorry in advance if I get things wrong such as first platoon went where second was supposed to go.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Band of Brothers. The men from Easy Company own themselves and anyone else you know or recognize aren't mine. Colette and her family are creations of my imagination. Please use your own and don't steal my characters.

**Dedication:** To the men and women who serve our country each and everyday. Thank you and God bless.

--

**Prologue**

**Carentan, France**

**1944**

Colette licked her bloodied lip as she rested her aching head against the wall behind her. The room the men had left her in had a small window above a dresser and wash basin and no others. A small bed was tucked into one corner and a writing table with books stacked upon it in the other. The faded light blue blanket on the bed was the only color in the room except for the faint mint green wall paper around the molding of the ceiling.

She wasn't sure how long it had been since the German's had left her in the room. A few minutes, an hour. Nearly a day. The sun had been behind the trees on the edge of town when she and Iris had been found. Now it was high above the houses, which meant it had to be near mid day at least. Colette wondered where her younger sister was in the house. She hoped desperately that Iris hadn't broken under the stares of the cold Germans or decided to mouth off and possibly get herself killed.

Iris was the youngest of three children, which meant she quickly learned how to make the most chaos without getting caught and blaming it on someone else. When she was younger no one had thought much of it, but as Iris got older, she decided to use it to her best advantage. Most of the time it would result in something being stolen and Luc or Colette covering for her and saving her butt. Of course, their parents knew nothing of the trouble their daughter got into either, it would be them both to shame in the blink of an eye.

But it wasn't that part that made Colette so nervous. Iris always seemed to think she was invincible to the world. That nothing could touch her. Sometimes it made her reckless and uncaring of what the consequences could be. It was something that their parents had always been worried about. When you feel invincible then you start to stop being afraid of being hurt, because you don't think you can. Iris hadn't quite learned that she was human and could be hurt in one way or another. Collete just hoped that she figured it out before it was too late.

Everything depended on neither of them speaking to the Germans. Colette wasn't quite sure about her sister, but if she started talking, Colette was afraid that she wouldn't be able to stop. And her family depended on her silence. But after everything that had happened since the beginning of the retched war, Colette was nearing her breaking point.

Too many of her friends had been killed in the bombings. Too many of her friends had gone off to fight for a cause they didn't believe in, but went to save their families. Colette had seen too many dead bodies stacked on the side of the road not to care. A person would have to be severely cold hearted not to care about all the people killed. To not notice the crying children of the streets as they found themselves alone without parents. Or the blank eyed widows of the soldiers when they learned they were left alone to raise their family without their partner. No one could ignore those people, or the way the world was becoming.

Except for the Germans.

The Germans were the cause of all the pain and suffering that had spread across Europe like a plague. A disease that couldn't be cured. All because one man didn't like a person for their looks. It was amazing how one man could have so much hate for a race of people that he would go to war just to exterminate them like fleas or tics. It was disgusting how he he did it.

But Colette could do nothing about a man who was in a whole different country. All she could do was pray that she could keep the promises she made and hope that she and her family made it through the war unscathed.

The door opened with a bang and knocked against the wall. Colette jumped and pulled her legs to her protectively as two German soldiers came towards her. She knew that any attempts to flee would just result in herself being harmed. She had figured that out the hurtfully hard way that morning when the troops had raided her home just outside the town. Her split lip and sprained wrist were proof of it.

She stumbled a bit as the two men let her roughly down the stairs and into the living room of the occupied home. A small group of about half a dozen soldiers stood around the room. Each had guns hung from their shoulders and Colette could see a few had Lugers strapped to their belts. As Colette and the two soldiers walked into the room, Colette felt everyone's eyes on her immediately.

A chair had been placed in the center of the room and with dread Colette felt herself being sat into it. The group of Germans closed in around her and Colette felt like a rabbit with a pack of wolves. Not much of a reassuring thought.

Deep down Colette wanted nothing more than being able to blame her younger brother for what was happening. If only Lucas had been able to keep to himself. To stay out of trouble while being a soldier. None of this would be happening if he had done what he was ordered. But Lucas had never been one for staying out of trouble or following orders of any kind. It was just who he was and Colette couldn't blame him for staying true to himself in a time where everyone else was being pressured into believing things they didn't in fear of death.

But as one of the Germans walked towards her and knelt down at eye level with her, a glint in his eye, Colette blamed Luc for everything.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Chapters from here on out should be longer, at least four or five pages long. Title may or may not change. The song was on so I used it. French will be in italics. Some will be translated, and some won't just because I'm guessing everyone knows it.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Band of Brothers. The men from Easy Company own themselves and anyone else you know or recognize aren't mine. Colette and her family are creations of my imagination. Please use your own and don't steal my characters.

**Kudos to:** negotiator24 for the review. Glad to know you liked it so far.

**Dedication:** To the men and women who serve our country each and everyday. Thank you and God bless.

--

**Chapter One**

**Carentan, France**

**1944**

_Frère Jacques,  
Frère Jacques,  
Dormez-vous?  
Dormez-vous?   
Sonnez les matines.  
Sonnez les matines.  
Din, din, don.   
Din, din, don. _

Iris bounced her knee in time with the song as she quietly sung the words to the empty dark room. She had heard footsteps going by the broom closet she was locked in and hoped that Colette was alright. When she had last seen her older sister Colette had been in about the same shape as Iris. Colette had fallen over a chair when the Germans came and sprained her wrist and a soldier had slapped her across the face for speaking. Iris had been luckier to begin with but had tripped down the stairs and hit her knee fairly hard. It was a bright red and starting to swell, not to mention painful.

When the Germans had stormed their home early in the morning it had taken them both off guard. Last they had heard the Germans were still coming into town and were miles away from Carentan. That had been the only reason that the two sisters hadn't started to panic and disappear earlier. They had been planning to leave town that afternoon, later than almost anyone else in town. Most people had started deserting the town weeks before but Colette had wanted to wait for any signs of Luc or their parents.

Iris and her older brother and sister had been separated from their parents for nearly three months. They had been going to try and help her mother's sister move out of Beumont and none of the Bristow children had heard nor seen them. Before Luc had come to them telling them to run, Iris had thought that their parents had been killed on the way to Beumont, but now she wondered if they too had been caught by the Nazis because of Luc.

A loud crash and cry from downstairs made Iris look at the door in despair. She knew the Germans were drilling her sister for information on Luc. That was all they needed from them, and Iris was willing to bet they would do anything to get it. She also knew how very angry they would be when they found out the truth. But Iris wouldn't be the one to tell them, she wanted to live for a couple more years until she did something that stupid. The thought of the looks on the Germans faces though if someone told them made her almost laugh her out loud. If she weren't locked up in a closet and her older sister wasn't being interrogated just down the stairs from her, Iris probably would have.

--

The Bristow family had always been a close one. With Colette being the oldest at twenty three and Iris the youngest at eighteen, it left Luc smack in the middle of his two sisters at twenty one. The three had always gotten along with each other, Iris was the one who would always cause friction between them. She had Colette always fought about one thing or another no matter the size and that left Luc to chose sides.

Luc was the normal young man trying to find himself in the world. During his teenage years he had always been the studious boy, the one you would always find out in the grass reading a good book for the millionth time. A boy who loved not only to study, but cause mischief as well. Not enough to get into any serious trouble, but enough to have fun with life. Though, most people didn't take him as one for the books by first glance. Luc had dirty blond hair that stuck up every which way despite how much he tried to tame it. He was tall at just over six feet tall and broad shouldered. Except for his light green eyes from their mother, Luc took after his father in almost every aspect of life. Until the war had started and Luc had been one of the first in line to join the army.

Mr. Bristow had never been one for violence, in fact it was completely frowned upon in the Bristow household. He didn't believe that one needed to use force to make a person's point known. When Luc up and left his family to join the German forces Alec nearly disowned him. It didn't help any that the entire family didn't much care for Hitler. As much as Caroline loved her husband however, she didn't always agree. She understood Luc's need to help fight for the country they had been raised in, even if it wasn't their mother country.

Both Alec and Caroline had been raised in France, but during the thirties the family moved to Germany. Alec was a store owner and had hoped to make more of an income in Germany. Caroline didn't have a job and simply did all the household chores and while they were younger, cared for her children.

Colette had learned much from her mother as she loved to help around the house. Rather than go out and play with the other girls with dolls, Colette would stay home and help her mother bake or clean. Caroline had always joked about how one day Colette would make a man very happy. With her honey blond hair and green eyes it was well known that many men were interested in Colette. She wasn't nearly as tall as her younger brother but stood around five seven. She too, like the rest of her siblings, had gotten her mother's light green eyes.

At sixteen Colette had fallen in love with the neighbor boy, Dimitri, an eighteen year old German living with his grandparents. The two had kept their relationship secret for nearly two years until one day her mother bluntly asked when they we're getting married. After that it had only taken Dimitri three days to get a ring and pluck up enough courage to ask for Colette's hand. The ceremony had been small with just the families of both Colette and Dimitri. When the war broke out in '39, Dimitri joined the army with Luc, promising to keep an eye on him for Colette. She had written to him every week for the first few years, but had stopped getting letters back. When Luc had come to them to warn them about the Nazis, he hadn't seem Dimitri in over six months.

As much as it pained Iris to think of it, she loved Dimitri like a brother, but she didn't think that he had made it through the first of the war. Of course, she had never said anything but optimistic things to Colette, who would break down just at the thought of losing her husband.

Iris was about the polar opposite of her entire family. Somehow she had gotten wavy, light brown hair, most likely from her father's side of the family. Light green eyes from her mother were about all that could be seen as similar in family pictures. She was the shortest of her family at five four but was by far the most active until Luc joined the army.

While Colette would be at home with their mother, Iris too would leave behind the girls and dolls and explore the land around their home. She could never sit still, which drove her mother insane beyond knowledge and slightly disappointed her father that Iris would never be like Colette. Luc and his friends had always been her friends too, with not many girl friends to play dress up with. Not that she had ever minded a whole lot.

--

Loud steps thumping up the stairs quickly brought Iris out of the light sleep she had fallen into. A door somewhere down the hall shut loudly before a set of footsteps ran back down the hall and stairs. Frowning into the dark, Iris wondered what it was about. Reaching up for the millionth time she jiggled the knob in hopes it would magically become unlocked. She was unsurprised to find it still locked in place.

Silence fell over the house and Iris wondered what was happening. The footsteps had stopped downstairs, but she didn't think that the Germans would simply abandon them before finding out about Luc. Unless Colette had broken and told them everything. Dread filled up her gut as she prayed that Cole had managed to stay strong with the Germans.

Iris lifted her head to the door as she heard the low squeal of the door down the hall open slowly. Soft footsteps started down the hall towards the steps and stopped in front of the closet. Unsure of who it was on the other side of the door, Iris tried to quietly stand up in the small closet and grabbed the first thing nearest her. An umbrella.

She watched as the shadow beneath the door moved slightly and gripped the umbrella tighter as the doorknob slowly turned. When the door opened Iris brought the umbrella up over her head and brought it down with a yell, stepping out of the closet.

--

Colette threw her arms above her head and braced herself for the blow of the umbrella her sister was wielding to crack against her skull. She waited for a couple seconds before lowering her arms and looked up to see a shocked Iris staring at her. Within a few moments Iris had dropped the umbrella and had thrown her small, skinny arms around her older sisters neck. Colette was forced to stumble back a few steps as she hugged Iris back tightly.

Iris pulled back first and looked at her sister with an almost serious face. _"Don't do that! Give me some kind of warning or something next time!"_

"_Sorry,"_ Colette muttered as she started down the stairs. She grabbed Iris' wrist as she walked and pulled her along behind. _"Next time we get captured by Germans and I come to break you out I'll yell 'Flying Chicken Wings!' before I open the door. That better for you?" _An annoyed look was firmly planted on the older girl's face as she quickly turned the corner and started towards the back door.

A pondering look flashed across Iris' face before she nodded. _"I suppose that'll have to do." _She glanced around the house confused. It was empty except for the empty food containers and papers on the tables. _"Where'd they go?"_

"_They left,"_ Colette called back as Iris lagged behind glancing at the papers on the tables, not noticing as she grabbed a few and folded them up into her sweater quickly. _"Yelling something about _'Amerikaner kommen'_. What ever that means."_

A feeling of relief came over Iris as she heard this. The Germans were gone. They could get away and be safe. They could go and find Luc and then everything would be fine. She walked towards the back of the house as she heard Colette calling her. Iris gave the papers a last glance before turning the corner and walked out the back screen door to where Colette stood waiting near the side of the house.

As the screen door slammed shut gun fire broke out and both women quickly ducked to the ground. Iris watched as Colette crawled on her knees to the edge of the house and peered around th edge. Colette looked back at Iris and motioned for the to follow her. Taking a deep breath, Iris crawled as fast as she could over to her sister.

"_When I say go we're going to run to that house,"_ Colette whispered.

She pointed to a dark brown two story house across the square from their current hiding place. It helped Iris' nerves to know that the firing was coming from the opposite side of town, towards town square. Still, the fact that they weren't sure who was firing and where they were made her a bit uneasy. But when Iris looked into Colette's determined face, she swallowed her fear and nodded her head.

Colette nodded back and turned back to watch the street. After a few quiet moments with a break of the firing Colette rose to her feet and took of running. Iris fell forward a bit in surprise as she soon found herself looking at her waiting sister from across the square. Taking a deep breath and gathering her knee length blue skirt she took off across the street.

Time seemed to move in slow motion as Iris ran across the street. Her heart beat filled her ears and she heard the sounds of her quick breathing. The firing had started back up, but she doubted it was because of her. Most likely the ones firing couldn't even see her and Colette. But she she slid to a top and fell to her knees just as opposite corner of the house by their new found spot was blown off, she wondered who's side they had just crossed into.

As another chunk was blown off of a building near by, Colette grabbed Iris by the upper arm and started running around the side of the house as quickly as she could without falling. Iris followed close behind attempting to keep her footing on the debris from the last attack. Colette took a hard right and Iris almost went flying into the wall as they stopped.

The gun fire seemed farther off now as they leaned against the wall to catch their breath. Both sisters stiffened as the sounds of voices started to grow nearer. Iris motioned towards the small shed like building just down the street a few feet from them. They quietly ran to it and closed the door just as a small group of soldiers started to walk by. A few stopped outside the shed and a few ran off after one of the men spoke.

Iris glanced at Colette confused as she left out a seemingly happy noise. She looked back at her with a full grin on her young face. _"Americans."_

After the war had started, Colette had started to learn as many languages as she could, just for the sake of knowing them. English had been her least favorite to learn and didn't know nearly as much English as German but could still communicate fairly well in English.

Iris was so happy to find that they had been saved by the Americans that she reached to open the door, knocking over a set of tools from a shelf. They clattered to the wooden floor loudly and Iris knew that everyone in town could have heard that. She froze and looked at a panicked Colette just as the door to the shed flew open.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** I spent a couple hours last night watching a few of the episodes, so hopefully I'm a bit more accurate with this. Please review, apparently I've been writing this so far for negotiator24, not that I mind. But I know others are reading too, so just leave some kind of review. Even if its just "Love it. Update soon." it'd make a world of difference for me. **Reviews are my heroine, feed the addiction!**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Band of Brothers. The men from Easy Company own themselves and anyone else you know or recognize aren't mine. Colette and her family are creations of my imagination. Please use your own and don't steal my characters.

**Kudos to:** negotiator24 again for the review. Sorry about the cliffie, just think that it could've been worse. ;-)

**Dedication:** To the men and women who serve our country each and everyday. Thank you and God bless.

--

_Blah. _ French untranslated

Blah. French translations

--

**Chapter Two**

**Carentan, France**

**June, 1944**

Iris paid no attention to the four soldiers standing just outside the small shed that she and Colette were hiding in, guns up and ready to fire them to Hong Kong and back. Instead, Iris was more worried about how pale her sister had become and the effort it took for her to breathe. Her green eyes were wide and her hand was at her chest.

Starting at a young age Colette had always been prone to asthma and panic attacks. While she was still younger, they would happen three or four times a month if not more. Anything seemed to throw her into an attack. Luckily though as Colette got older she seemed to almost grow out of them. But Iris could clearly remember the days when suddenly out of the blue Cole would start having trouble breathing and their parents would drop everything to calm her. As Iris fell to the floor seconds after her sister did, she tried to remember what her parents had always done to calm her.

"_Breathe Cole! Think happy thoughts. Like puppies. Kittens. Daisies!"_ Iris clutched Colette's hands in hers and rubbed them soothingly. _" Deep breath in and out."_

Colette nodded her head and let it drop onto Iris' shoulder as she tried to calm her breathing. Iris looked up to see the soldiers had dropped their guns and were watching them. She forced herself to look away from them and focused back on her sister. Colette's shoulders shook as she finally brought herself back to calm down. Iris wrapped her arms around her comfortingly and let her head fall with a sigh.

"_Thank you," _Colette whispered, giving her sister a tight hug. Iris simply nodded her head with closed eyes.

Footsteps on the floor made them both look up and they noticed that all but two of the soldiers had left. The taller of the two had climbed into the shed and was walking towards them slowly. He had left his gun with the other man and had his hands up in surrender.

"Vous parlez l'anglais?" You speak English? 

Iris wanted to laugh as the French came from the man. He sounded like he was trying to speak while eating mashed potatoes at the same time. Not a very flattering way of putting it, but true none the less. She wondered what she would sound like trying to speak English and doubted she would sound much better.

Colette nudged her younger sister in gut with her elbow with a frown before turning back to the soldier. "I do, a bit."

The man nodded and started to question her. Iris looked between her sister and the man as they talked between themselves for a few minutes. She could tell that Cole was having a hard time with her English but somehow the man seemed to understand everything she was saying.

Her attention turned to the other soldier who stood just outside the shed on guard. Most of the gun fire had stopped along with the bombing. Yet, the man was still scanning the streets and buildings for the Germans. The radio pack on his back was speaking, but apparently it had nothing to do with him as he ignored it. He reminded her of Dimitri in a way. Tall, dark brown hair, a face that Iris was sure laughed at just about everything, and kind eyes. Iris looked away as memories of Dimitri and Luc came back to her painfully.

The thought of never seeing either of them hurt deeply. Iris couldn't even start to understand how her sister held herself together everyday. Dimitri was just like another member of the family to her. The older brother that Luc, someone that understood Iris' need to stand on her own two feet, and another son to their parents. But it was different for Colette. Dimitri was the man that she would spend the rest of her life with, and Iris truly believed that if Dimitri really was dead, Colette would never move on in life. Not completely at least. He meant too much to her just to pick up and move on from.

Iris was startled out of her thoughts as Colette gave a laugh and got to her feet with the help of the soldier. She looked down at a confused Iris with a grin and held out a hand for her.

"_How does England sound?"_ she asked, pulling her sister to her feet gently.

"_Full of bloody wankers,"_ Iris answered as they started to follow the soldier out of the shed and into the street. Her knee protested as she put her full weight on it, but Iris was determined to not show weakness in front of the soldiers, not to mention her sister.

She was surprised when the soldier, that had been talking with Cole, turned around and held his hand out to her. "David Webster," he said.

Iris hesitated a split second and stared at his outstretched hand before grabbing it with one of hers. His hand was rough and dirt covered but she didn't notice much. She was too busy attempting to think of something smart to say, like Colette would have done.

"Iris," she muttered quietly, mentally berating herself for sounding stupid. None the less, David gave her a grin and said something in English before starting back down the street. As they followed behind him, Iris finally got a chance to see the full extent of damage of the town.

The pharmacy front had been blown out, as had many of the other store fronts. Bullet holes marred many of the homes, and some windows had been shot out. Corners of buildings had been completely blown away and as the small group passed the house she and Colette had only an hour before been locked into, Iris was shocked to find half of the house collapsed. She stopped in front of it and tried to remember what part of the house her broom closet had been in. Her stomach hurt when she found that if Colette hadn't managed to break them out of the house, she would probably be dead.

"Was it yours?"

The voice beside her caused Iris to jump in surprise. She looked over to see the other soldier standing a few feet away form her, gesturing towards the house. A frown came over her face as she tried to understand what he was saying. He noticed and walked towards her and pointed at the house again.

"Is it yours?" He pointed between the house and Iris until she realized what he was asking.

"No," she said. She shook her head fervently, "Not mine."

For a second Iris was worried she had said the wrong word, but the soldier nodded in understanding. He looked up the street to where David and Colette stood a little ways up waiting for them. "We'd better hurry up," he said kindly and waited for Iris to take one last look at the house that had served as a prison for a day. She looked at the broken windows and the jagged edges of the floor boards hanging in air from the top floor before turning her back on it and walking beside the soldier with a small limp.

The two walked in silence a little farther behind Colette and David who continued to talk like long lost friends. Iris took in all the damage of the town and once again thanked god that Colette had managed to save them from it. She wondered what their house looked like and hoped that because it was on the outside of town it would be mostly still intact. Or at least livable.

"I'm George Luz," the soldier said, breaking the silence that had hung over them. He seemed to think about it before speaking again. "Luz, actually."

He looked over at Iris and waited for her to speak. She thanked him mentally for not making hand gestures to himself like some Americans did, it always made Iris laugh out loud. Mostly that ended up in offending them, and she thought it would be best not to offend any of the American soldiers.

"Luz?" she asked, a bit confused as to what he wanted to be called. A grin spread across his face as he nodded. "Iris," she said. She was happy to hear that her voice sounded stronger then when David had asked her.

Luz opened his mouth to say more but as the four rounded the corner, they found themselves in the main square. Iris was stunned to see the number of soldiers that had come to her small town. Debris was everywhere as were the scattered bodies of both Germans and what Iris guessed were other Americans. A few buildings were smoldering while others were still caught on fire.

Colette stopped a bit ahead of her and called out her name, motioning for Iris to stay close. David walked across the remains of the battered square to an almost untouched house. He stepped aside and let Colette in before him, stopping to say something to Luz before following Iris' sister inside.

"_Stay there!"_ Colette called quickly before the door shut and Iris was left out on the street with Luz.

"_Yes, Oh Mighty Great One,"_ Iris muttered before gingerly lowering herself onto the street, resting her back against the wall. She stretched out her injured knee into the street and pulled the other to her chest and propped her chin on it. Her light blue tattered skirt hung limply from her frame, and Iris was glad that she always wore short leggings beneath her skirts so she could run if need be.

Luz gave a heavy sigh and shouldered off the radio pack and set it down on the ground before sitting on the street beside Iris. He rummaged around in his jacket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Iris frowned and shook her head as Luz offered her one and he simply shrugged and lit on for himself. The two sat in a comfortable silence as they watched the square come back to life slowly.

Medics were gathering up the wounded and brought them past Iris and Luz into the house that Iris assumed was their aid station. More locals were coming out of their homes and some men were helping to clear the streets of debris so that army jeeps could go through. A couple women had followed the medics in the house to help with the wounded and if Iris had any stomach for blood, she would have volunteered to help.

After a few minutes more soldiers came and sat down with them, conversing about the battle. Some noticed Iris and gave her odd looks, but most didn't seem to notice or care she was there. It suited her fine, her English was horrible and she'd rather not make a fool of herself in front of all of the Americans.

The door swung open from the inside and Iris looked up to see a happy Colette walk down the steps and sat herself next to her sister.

"_How's the knee?"_ she asked, smoothing out the edges of her gray, knee length dress.

Iris gave a shrug. It still hurt horribly, but she wasn't going to complain. She'd had worse, and many of the men around her needed medical attention more urgently than she did. _"It's fine._"

Colette gave a nod and stared down the street. Iris was itching to ask about what had gone on in the house, but didn't want to press her sister for information. She was sure that it had to be good news, Cole hadn't come out of the house crying, so that had to count for something.

"_I got us a job,"_ Colette said, still looking away from her sister.

A grin spread out over Iris' face. A job meant some way of getting her mind off of everything that was going on. No more thoughts of Luc and Dimitri and whether or not they were alive. Not if it was something that would keep her busy enough to simply crash into bed at night.

"_What kind of job?"_ she asked, leaning forward and ignoring the pain in her knee in excitement.

"_You have to promise to understand that this is the only way we'll be safe from the Nazis,"_ Colette begged. Iris' stomach dropped at the look of pleading her sister was throwing at her.

"_Okay,"_ she promised uncertainly. This wasn't sounding as such a great idea as Iris had hoped.

Colette took a deep breath and focused her eyes on the skyline just above her sisters head._ "I hope you like to cook."_

**Author's Note: **Mk. Wow, long chapter. Almost six pages, go me. I changed the title, may not seem like it, but it fits the story better than the old one. Don't try to understand it, most of you won't until later on. I'll try to update again tomorrow, but I give no promises. I only got one done today because I'm home with the flu. Yay. So, please review and I'll update again soon. I hope.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** I'm sick and have tons of time on my hands, so I figured I may as well start another chapter. I've decided that most of the story will be from Iris' point of view, simply because it's more fun to write. **Reviews are my heroine, feed the addiction!**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Band of Brothers. The men from Easy Company own themselves and anyone else you know or recognize aren't mine. Colette and her family are creations of my imagination. Please use your own and don't steal my characters.

**Kudos to:** GottaPenny. Gee, I'm flattered. Thanks so much for the words of encouragement. But don't worry, I plan on writing this one to the end. :-)

**Dedication:** To the men and women who serve our country each and everyday. Thank you and God bless.

--

_Blah Blah_ French untranslated

(Blah Blah) French Translations

--

**Chapter Three**

**Countryside, France**

**June, 1944**

"_You can't walk away forever,"_ Colette called up to her sister, who was determinedly walking a good ten feet in front of her.

"_Watch me,"_ Iris yelled back, turning to walk backwards and give Cole a good glare before turning back and jogging a few steps more ahead. She ignored the weeds and burs that nestled their way into her boots and clung to her skirt and kept walking towards their house.

Iris hadn't taken the news of having to be an unofficial member of Easy Company very lightly. It had nothing to do with the work, or the men themselves, but Iris had hoped to get as far away from the brutality of the war as she could get. Instead she was following a company of soldiers while Colette helped the Medic with the wounded. Iris had been informed that she wouldn't be expected to help Cole, but simply to help the troops in any way she could, from the back of the line.

On one hand Iris understood the reasoning behind Colette's decision. While being with Easy, there was almost no way that the Germans would be able to find them like they had before. On the other hand, now Iris and Colette were helping the very men who could kill or already could have killed Dimitri and Luc. She had no loyalties to Hitler and the Germans, but she did have them for her brothers.

--

Iris waited hidden behind a bush as Liebgott and Malarkey circled around the house for any signs of Germans. The two soldiers had been ordered to go with the Bristow sisters to their home and collect what few things they had. Colette had spent most of the two mile walk talking with the two, as Iris stayed a few feet in front of them.

It was already starting to aggravate Iris already that she could understand almost nothing of what the soldiers in Easy were saying. A select few, including the commanding officer Lieutenant Winters, spoke French but about as well as David had. Iris planned on finding the trooper who best spoke French and beg to be taught English. Asking her sister for help was out of the question, within minutes they would be bickering. But possibly one of the men would be willing to help her.

Malarkey gave them a wave and together Iris and Colette stood up from behind the bush Liebgott had left them at. As they entered the house, Iris wasn't completely surprised to find it torn apart. Papers were thrown across the floor, drawers were left upended on the floor, and cupboard doors were open. She picked her way through the disarray and made her way to the stairs. Colette was trying to explain what had happened, but was finding it difficult without telling about Luc. Eventually she just left them in the foyer and disappeared into her room.

Five minutes was all it took for Iris to gather all that she needed or wanted to bring with her. She packed everything hastily into an old army bag that Luc had sent to her after his basic training in Berlin. All she brought were an extra skirt, two pairs of leggings, a warm sweater, two shirts, three changes of socks, and a few other necessities that she deemed appropriate. Glancing down at her feet, Iris grabbed a pair of work boots on the way of her room and pulled her old shoes off as she hoped down the stairs.

As she laced up the boots, Colette came out of her room with a pack strapped to her back. She had pulled back her hair into a bun and tossed a hair tie to Iris before turning to Malarkey and spoke to him. He looked back at Iris and saw her ready and motioned for them to move out. As she pulled up her hair into a messy pony tail, Iris looked over the house that had once been a safe place for them. She gave a deep sigh and jogged out the door to catch up with the other three.

--

"_I hate nature,"_ Iris muttered quietly to herself.

In all reality, she practically lived outdoors at home. But as Iris stepped on the bur that had buried itself into her boot for the millionth time under the course of five minutes, she about ready to pull out every blade of grass by hand. It didn't help that the bur was in her left boot, which also happened to be the leg with the injured knee.

She had been walking in the field with the rest of Easy Company for near two hours already. Iris wasn't exactly sure where they were going, but she hoped it was somewhere near by. Her knee was starting to hurt again, worse than before, and her feet ached. Looking ahead, Iris could see that Colette was growing tired as well but kept herself busy by talking to some of the men.

Finally tired of the continuous poke of the bur, Iris sat down in the middle of the field and proceeded to unlace her boot. While muttering colorful wording beneath her breath she picked out the bothersome bur and quickly put back on her boot. Her knee protested at being bent but she ignored it and laced up the boot and climbed to her feet.

"_You alright there, Miss?"_ a voice asked concerned.

Without thinking, or even noticing that the soldier had spoken in French, Iris retorted sarcastically, _"Right as rain, thanks so much for your concern."_

She took a few steps before stopping abruptly and spun around. A medium built man with dark eyebrows and a lopsided grin stood a few feet behind her, a red cross on the side of his jacket. Iris gapped at him for a few moments before turning a light pink in the face.

"_You speak French,"_ she said it as more of a statement than a question. Suddenly realizing how stupid she was making herself sound, Iris gave him a sheepish grin. _"Sorry."_

"_I'm half Cajun," _the man explained with a shrug and gave her a small smile. He walked over to her, hand outstretched. _"Eugene Roe. Easy Company medic."_

"_Iris Bristow,"_ she said, shaking his hand politely. _"Half Cajun?"_

Eugene nodded as the two continued back on the walk through the field. _"Louisiana native all my life," _he said. A quick glance at the way Iris was walking sent red flags up in the medic's mind. _"Something wrong with your leg?"_

Iris followed Gene's gaze down to her knee and shook her head. _"Just bumped it,"_ she lied. The look in the medic's eye told Iris he didn't believe her but as he opened his mouth to say more, someone called his name. Gene gave her one last look before nodding his head to her and jogging up to the front of the line. She waved to his back before turning around to walk backwards.

Malarkey was with a couple of other privates, laughing at something one of them had said. Liebgott walked next to a bulky man who was smoking a cigar and some other men, and Luz was walking with two other men. Seeing that Luz was with less she didn't know, Iris made her way over to him, falling into step beside him. He gave her a grin but said nothing which she was happy for. Iris wasn't exactly in the mood for trying to communicate with anyone and make herself into a fool again.

She listened as the three men spoke. One of them was short, about the same height as Iris and had darker skin and hair. He seemed to be complaining about something to Luz and the other man. The other soldier was tall like Luz and and Winters but seemed a little bit more built than they were. He had a wide grin and his eyes shone while he talked. He didn't seem at all phased by the one man's complaints, which Iris found amusing.

Suddenly Iris found herself pulled to the ground by Luz as mortars hit the ground around the company. Everything seemed to happen all at once as the soldiers crawled their way to the ditch and started to return fire. Somehow, Iris managed to fling herself over the edge of the ditch and tumbled a bit down the slope. She watched as Luz and a few others appeared and leaped into the ditch before turning to return fire.

Unknowing as to what to do and not wanting to get in the way, Iris slid a short was down the slope and leaned against a tree. She pulled her knees to her chest and winced every time a mortar hit the ground. She wondered if this was how Luc and Dimitri had felt when they had been in their first battle. But then again, they had been trained and knew what to expect for the most part. They could help , while Iris was unsure what to do.

Soon, the rain fell hard enough that it matted her hair to her face and most of the gun fire stopped. The sun was far behind the hills and it was quickly becoming dark. A hand reached out and nudged Iris on the shoulder, causing her to jump.

She looked up to find Luz standing above her, hand hanging in mid air. Iris grabbed it and he pulled her to her feet and motioned for her to follow him. Like a lost puppy, Iris followed him through the trees and past dozens of men in their foxholes. Some were eating and talking while others sat watching the ditch where the Germans sat. Luz came to a stop in front of an empty foxhole and jumped into it, patting the ground beside him. Iris looked around for a moment before jumping into the man made hole and sat down on the mud beside Luz.

The two sat in a comfortable silence as Luz smoked. As the Germans started to sing, Iris wondered what they were so happy about. What part of war did they not understand? It wasn't a place that you just decided to sing in the middle of the night while having your enemy just across the way from you. It was place where young men risked their lives for a cause that they believed in and were willing to die for. Iris shook her head as more Germans joined in singing. They just didn't understand.

A rustle in the bushes above their foxhole caused Luz to reach for his gun just as Colette and Lieutenant Winters emerged. Luz relaxed and greeted them while Iris remained seating and gave them both a wave. Winters nodded to her with a gently smile before turning to explain something to Luz. Colette slowly walked to where Iris sat looking at the wall of the hole.

"_You alright?"_ Cole asked tentatively, leaning over the side of the hole carefully. Concern was written in her face, and Iris felt bad for being so stubborn towards her.

Iris nodded her head still looking anywhere but her sister. _"Just dandy. You?"_

Colette simply gave a shrug and looked out towards the German side of the line. _"They really are horrible singers,"_ she muttered with an annoyed tone.

Iris gave a laugh and nodded her head. _"Hell yes they are,"_ she agreed. Suddenly she was laughing so hard that she couldn't stop. Colette looked at her and began to laugh as well, trying to smolder the noise with her hand. _"Reminds me when Luc and Dimitri did their duet at your wedding,"_ Iris choked out, remembering the so called 'duet' that the two men had sung at the reception. Granted, it was after a few too many glasses to drink, but the two had been absolutely dreadful.

The memory seemed to cause Colette to laugh harder. Soon the two sisters had gathered the attention of the two men beside them, who looked on confused but amused none the less. Eventually, Iris and Colette managed to calm themselves and were looking at each other slightly awkward.

"_I'm sorry,"_ Iris blurted out, unable to take the silence between them anymore. Over the course of a day not talking to her sister, she realized how much she had missed her. It had felt awkward and weird not being able to talk to Colette, and Iris wanted that to change.

Colette's eyes softened and she waved off the apology. _"It's fine. I guess you were expecting something else other than this?" _She spread her arms wide, gesturing to the woods and other foxholes around them.

"_Yeah. A bit,"_ Iris admitted with a shrug.

Winters stood up and called to Colette. She said something to him and turned back to her sister. _"I have to go, but I'll see you tomorrow. Stay out of trouble,_" she said sternly with a half smile. Iris flashed her a grin.

"_Always."_

**Author's Note: **So, ick. I didn't like it that much, so I don't blame any of you if you don't either. Think of this as kinda a filler chapter that leads to better ones. Please still review, feedback is amazing.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Reviews are my heroine, feed the addiction! **_

**I skipped to just around the end of the battle from last chapter. Simply because I'm not sure yet how Iris is going to be incorporated yet with the rest of the company. So having another scene with her on the edge of a meltdown similar to Blithe didn't seem like a great idea. So, skipping ahead seemed like a good idea.** If that made sense to you, have a cookie.

**Kudos to:**

**Meggie**. Happy to know you liked it. I was pretty much ecstatic to see your review this afternoon, you were my only reviewer and I was getting kinda worried. Heh. Thanks though, total boost in self esteem.

**WETSU.** Who reviewed like half an hour after I put up my note. Awesomness loves. Your story is amazingness, I need to finally go back and finish it. Started it like..million years ago and then became stupid and forgot to finish. How smart of me, no?

**DancinThroughLife.** Also an amazingly fast reviewer. Probably got something to do with the fact they both have me on alert. The Covenant is great, loved it. Band of Brothers and that are at a close tie, love em both about the same.

**GottaPenny. **Yeah, some fandoms just take awhile to review I guess. Like with Harry Potter, until you get a good amount of chapters up, you don't get reviews. Sort of annoying.. haha. Thanks for the concern for the brother. He's fine, still a whimpy pain in the ass, but fine all the same. Yay for older brothers.

--

I can't be held responsible  
She was touching her face  
I won't be held responsible  
She fell in love in the first place

-The Freshman, The Verve Pipe  
--

**Chapter Three**

**Countryside, France**

**June, 1944**

Iris poked her head out of the fox hole carefully and watched as one of the German tanks exploded on the front end. One of the Easy men, Iris wasn't sure of his name, and shoved her into the hole once the firing had resumed early in the morning. Winters stopped by to check on her before things grew too hectic before running off to ensure his men. Iris hadn't seen Colette since the night before and hoped she was alright. Though she doubted that anything would happen to her and if anything did then Eugene would be there in no time.

She looked up as a few shouts of joy and cheers went up through the lines. A rumbling could be heard and trees were being pushed over. Moments later a row of Shermans forced their way out of the trees and began firing on the Germans. A rush of relief washed of Iris as she watched the Germans being pushed farther and farther back by the new found strength of the Americans.

Soon the Germans were either running away from the field, or laying dead on the ground. Iris heaved a heavy sigh and sat down in the mud that was the bottom of her foxhole. She stretched out her right leg gingerly, careful not to bump it. The pain in her knee had worsened over night, most likely from having to sleep on the ground. Iris glanced around quickly in all directions before pulling the hem of her skirt up slightly and winced.

The whole of her knee was swollen and an ugly mixture of black and purple. The bruise traveled a little ways down her shin and around the back of her leg. She grimaced as she prodded it gently and decided to leave it be. Once Eugene was done caring for the wounded soldiers Iris would go and have him wrap it for her. Without having him mention it to anyone else, including Colette. No need for having the entire company think she was weak or anything near it.

Slowly Iris climbed to her feet and limped over to edge of the foxhole. She quickly found that getting out of the hole with her knee was near impossible. Still, knowing she needed to get out and find Colette to make sure she was alright. Iris took a deep breath and placed both hands on the ground for balance. She lifted herself up and tried to get one leg onto the level ground. Just as Iris felt herself starting to topple backwards, a pair of hands grabbed hold of her upper arms and lifted her gently out of the hole.

Webster set her carefully back onto her feet and took in her mud covered form. The French girl was completely covered in mud. It was dried in her hair and strained her already tattered clothes. Her skirt had a few new holes in it and no matter of washes would ever be able to save her shirt. He noticed instantly as Iris shifted her weight onto her left leg and slightly bent her right leg. Concern flashed through his mind as he wondered what had happened.

For some reason David had a weird instinct to protect the two women that he and Luz had found the day before. The feeling wasn't as strong for Colette but it sprung up in his mind whenever David happened to be around Iris. It wasn't a bad feeling or one he wanted to do away with, simply one that made him want to protect Iris from anything and everything he could. It was the same feeling that came over him whenever he was around his younger sister, Meridith.

The similarities between Meridith and Iris were frightening to David as he took time to think about them. They both disregarded many of the rules, something that a few of the Easy men had sensed in Iris. Following her sister into an unknown place without questioning seemed to be hard for her to do, and most could see it clearly. Both were high spirited and tried hard to have control over anything they could. It had always gotten Mer into trouble back home, and David had a sneaking suspicion hat Iris wasn't exactly a perfect little angel herself.

--

Iris could feel the burn of many eyes upon her as Webster carried her into the aid station that had been set up. The once clean skirt she wore was now caked in drying mud and scattered with holes. Her cheeks started to turn red as she caught the eye of her older sister, who had an amused look upon her tired face. She just shook her head at Iris and Webster before ducking behind a tree and starting over to where the men had set up camp.

Webster had apparently seen her favor her leg and had basically ordered her to see Eugene. She had started towards it without argument only to slip and fall into the mud that was still wet from the nights rain. In David's defense, he had tried to catch her, but ended up falling down beside her in his rush. After getting over the shock of realizing they were both covered in mud, David had insisted on carrying Iris the rest of the way to the aid station.

Eugene gave her a knowing look before pointing Webster towards an empty corner of a writing table. Webster set her gently onto the edge and stood back against the back of the tent to give Doc room to work. Gene walked over to the pair, whipping his hands onto a rag quickly. He didn't have to ask what was wrong before he gently knelt down and pushed up the hem of Iris' skirt slightly to get a look of her knee.

Webster gave a low whistle from his spot against the tent wall as Gene bobbed his head in agreement. _"Didn't mention that yesterday,"_ he said, walking to wear a pile of bandages sat and grabbed one off the top. Gene started to wrap it around her knee but watched for her reaction.

Iris gave a simple shrug and took in a quick breath as Gene wrapped the stretchy cloth around her knee gently. _"Doesn't hurt that much," _ she attempted. Web gave a small laugh and Gene pulled the bandage tighter, causing Iris to jerk her knee in both surprise and pain.

"_Sure it doesn't," _he agreed. _"That's why it looks like an over sized mutant purple cabbage."_

A snort escaped Iris,_ "How nice of you."_

"_I don't think he meant it as a compliment kid,"_ Webster cut in, a large grin on his face as he watched the two, _"Most women your age don't want vegetables for legs."_

Iris frowned at him and winced as Gene patted her knee before standing up. She gingerly slid off the edge of the desk and tried putting weight on her leg, biting her lip as she did. Unlike before, now Iris' leg was fat and cumbersome because of the bandage. This didn't make it any easier for her to walk then it had without it.

She waved off Webster as he made to help her again and limped slowly to the edge of the tent. Gene shook his head at the girls stubbornness but respected her all the same. Many others, men included, would be whining like little children because of injuries, serious or not. By taking the pain without much objection showed him that Iris was stronger than many had first given her credit for. Unfair but true.

"_Try to keep off it as much as you can," _Gene called after Iris.

The only indication that she had heard him was a thumbs up thrown in his direction before she limped out of the tent, Webster close on her heels.

After the two left the aid station, Iris and Webster decided that finding food should be the next thing to check of their to-do list. Not to mention that Iris was supposedly supposed to be the one feeding everyone but so far she had done nothing but hide in the fox hole someone had left her in and go to see Gene. Not much considering all the things that Iris was sure needed to be done. Despite the fact how she wasn't exactly thrilled about being an active part of the War, Iris felt that she owed the Easy men for taking her and Colette. The least she could do was make sure they could have hot food whenever possible. She just needed to figure out where said food was..

--

After nearly ten minutes of searching the camp high and low for any signs of food, Iris managed to run into the Lieutenant. He had given her a soft amused smile and steered her back in the direction she had just came from. With a small thank-you she left the man behind, wandering back through the woods towards where Iris hoped was food.

Web had left her when they had come across Sergeant Lipton and had been volunteered to help keep watch. With an apologetic look he had left Iris to fend for herself, much to her discomfort, and had left to complete the watch. She had walked around aimlessly for a few minutes, hoping to come across anyone familiar that could guide her in the general direction of the food.

It had only been by a stroke of luck that Iris had even been able to find Winters. Somehow she had left the camp of Easy and wandered into the Dog Company campsite, which explained why no one had looked at all familiar.

Finally, Iris broke through the line of trees and was delighted to find Colette bustling around a small fire, serving what looked like stew from a caste iron pot. A line of Easy men stood waiting for her to get to them, talking amongst themselves loudly. Probably about the battle they had just won, Iris guessed.

She limped slowly through the crowd of men and made her way over to Colette. Iris gave a few of the men smiles that called out her name, waving a bit shyly. She was a bit surprised that the Easy soldiers had welcomed her and Colette so quickly. Though Iris wasn't complaining, it was better than being treated as a leper and being forced to earn their respect. Still, she guessed that a few men wouldn't trust them and then they either be forced to somehow managed to gain their respect or ignore them all together. Iris figured that ignoring them would be easier, but doubted Colette would agree.

Colette had always been the one who took the extra time in the morning to get ready, just to make sure that she looked her absolute best for others to see. It wasn't that she was self centered and wanted to be the prettiest girl out there, but Cole simply wanted everyone to like her. While Iris could care less if anyone liked her at all, Cole had to be accepted by all. If she wasn't then she'd change so who ever didn't, would. No one else seemed to notice it, not even Dimitri, but Iris knew how much it mattered to Colette to be accepted. It was just part of who she was.

Iris walked up and fell in beside her sister, flashing her a smile._ "Hard at work I see," _she teased.

Colette threw her a tired look and turned to smile at the man waiting for stew. _"Put yourself to use and go grab that pot from the fire," _she ordered, nodding her chin towards the fire where another caste iron pot sat steaming. Iris limped over and quickly went to pick it up, pulling her hand back quick as the handle burned it.

"Zut," she cursed, waving her hand frantically in the air and hopping around on her good leg.

Iris frowned as Colette called her name and looked around for something to pick up the pot with. Seeing nothing, she grabbed the pot quickly and raced over to where her sister waited impatiently for her. She nearly threw the pot onto a tree stump next to Colette and pulled back her hands and rubbed them against her skirt. Angry red streaks were starting to form across both of her palms and they already hurt almost as much as her knee.

"_Stupid pot,"_ Iris muttered angrily. She looked up at the sound of her name being called and saw Luz waving at her from a group sitting on the ground in a circle. A glance towards Colette told her that she had everything under control, so Iris walked slowly over to Luz and the other troopers.

Malarkey was there, as was Leibgott and a few others. She nodded politely as Luz introduced them and sat down next to him between him and Joe. Absentmindedly, Iris continued to rub her burned hands on her skirt. She jumped a bit as Joe grabbed them curiously.

"Ow. Die werden eine Markierung verlassen," he commented, surprising Iris with his German. "Was haben Sie gemacht?" he asked. (Ow. Those will leave a mark.) (What did you do?)

The rest of the men watched confused as the two conversed, trying to understand some of what they were saying.

"Abendessen," Iris explained, gesturing towards where Colette was still serving stew, "Dummer Topf" (Dinner)(Stupid pot)

Joe gave a laugh before eating a spoonful of his dinner. "Gute Speise obwohl. Besser als nichts," he told her seriously. (Good food though. Better than nothing.) Her reached into his jacket pocket and withdrew a hankie, which he tucked into Iris' hands. "Verband," Joe explained, noticing her confused look. She gave him a smile and nodded her head in thanks. (Bandage)

As Joe turned back to talking to the other men in the group, Iris began to realize that soon she would probably find out what it would be like to have nothing.

**Longest chapter to date. Whooot:-) Review?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: **Mk. I have a wonderful excuse for the fact I haven't updated in a week. David ended up sick again, in the hospital until Monday or Tuesday at the least. Whoot, sounds great huh? He also managed to get my entire family sick so I was in the hospital Thursday and Friday night myself getting two IVs shoved up my arm. Not to mention the four blood draws in my left arm and the two in my right for blood cultures. Gee wise, I just _looove _my brother.

**Kudos to: WETSU **for her very helpful review. Personally, I'm more of a sci-fi channel watcher myself, which explains some stuff when you think about it. Somehow I managed to con my way into Honors English though, who would've guessed? Anyways, how about you just imagine that instead of "mutant" it was "deformed"? Sound a bit better?

--

Hey Hey don't pay no mind,  
We are the second, you're minutes behind  
So you say, "Yea I'm alright"  
You are the fortunate all the time

-The Fortunate, Cartel

--

**Chapter Five**

**France**

**June, 1944**

The next days passed by in a flurry for Iris. By day Easy Company would be ordered to take one town one by one. They were soldiers then, doing the their duty as was ordered of them. At night they would turn back to being normal men, joking and eating around a camp fire. It had been shocking at first to see, but soon Iris became used to the sides of the troopers. Iris was relieved to find they weren't in military mode 24/7, which would have driven her crazy by the end of the week.

It had been hard enough when Luc had caught wind of the military lingo from one of his friends older brother. The next month or so after that had been filled with salutes, yes sirs, and proper marching. By the end of that teenage boy phase, Luc was fifteen and their entire family knew most of the proper military etiquette for every occasion you could possibly think of. It was quite disturbing when you actually stopped and thought about it.

Seeing Colette every day turned out to be harder than she had first thought. While Iris spent most of her time with Luz, Liebgott, Web, and Malarkey, Colette could be seen with Winters and Nixon almost always. If Iris got lucky, she'd manage to run into her sister sometime before she tried to get some sleep, but not always.

Luz was quickly starting to become one of her closer friends within the company. Despite the fact that neither could communicate very well with each other, they found humor in their sad attempts to. He had enlisted the help of Web to learn some French so that he wouldn't accidentally say something offensive like some of the other men had by mistake. Though for the most part Iris took in all in stride, finding it hilariously funny.

Iris had convinced Liebgott to help her with her English in return for reserving the first spot in the dinner line for him. Doc Roe would have been her first choice as a teacher, but whenever Iris had a spare moment to ask him, she couldn't find the Cajun anywhere. She had asked the others about it, but they said it was just what he would do. He was there when needed, but liked his space. Sometimes it reminded Iris of her father, oddly enough.

Alec Bristow had always been a family man. His devotion towards his family could be unmatched by no other. Spending time with his family always came first before anything else. Nothing was as important as the ones you loved, that was Alec's theory. Sometimes he would take random days off from work just to stay home with his children when they were younger. Family was the first of his priorities with work further on down the list. It had always been that way, until the war started.

Once the reports of invasions all over Europe had started slowly trickling in, Alec had become a different man. Suddenly late nights at work became normal and family dinners were rare. Soon even seeing Alec in his own home was like seeing an exotic animal, rare and something to celebrate over. Gone were the nights spent reading around the fire place, or long discussions at the dining room table. When the Germans finally came for him, they barely saw him anymore.

As she looked back on it, Iris wondered how she never figured it out sooner.

--

Iris tried to look interested as Luz and Denver "Bull" Randleman continued to try and scare each other with their poker faces. It was around the fifth or sixth hand of the night, and Iris was quickly becoming both bored and about ready to fall asleep. Though, it was entertaining to watch when the two would bicker back and forth like little children. Being able to actually _understand_ what they were saying was always a challenge, but Malarkey quickly marked Buck and Luz as her teachers regarding all American curse words.

The sun was far gone behind the line of trees around the group but no one but Iris seemed to notice as the bet pile continued to grow. So far a couple packs of smokes, some loose change, a picture of some pin up girl, and an extra pair of socks made up the somewhat sad little pile. Some of the men, Malarkey and Guarnere included, were randomly adding things to pile despite the fact they had both called out and were simply watching along side Iris.

Finally, Luz confidently placed his cards down onto the tree stump they were using as a table and leaned back cockily. Iris looked at the cards confused, not sure what they meant but assumed it was something good from the look on Luz's face.

"Wow, Luz," Bull said, not yet setting down his own cards, "That's a real nice hand you got there."

Luz gave a chuckle, "Yes, sir. I do believe thats a winning hand right there."

Iris watched amused as Bull shook his head, a grin plastered on his face brightly, and set down his cards one by one. Everyone watched engrossed as the smile fell from Luz's face and the other men laughed as Bull took his share of the winnings. He stood up with his earnings and clapped a stunned Luz on the shoulder gently with a smile. He called a goodbye to everyone over his shoulder before being lost in the darkness of the trees. The men waited smartly until Bull was out of earshot before bursting in laughter and mocking Luz for his lose.

George managed to take it in stride for a few minutes, shaking his head in laughter along with his comrades. However, when Malarkey started onto the impersonations, including a funny 'Luz almost falling off his seat on the log' and an 'evil Buck cackling madly' a pebble war broke out.

The men and Iris ran for cover, pebble wars had been one of the things Iris had learned were not uncommon with Easy. Luz and Mal weren't even bothering to hide behind anything, they were battling it out in pain view circling each other somewhat menacingly. The look would've been complete if only the two hadn't have been laughing like men freshly escaped from an asylum. Every few seconds or so one of them would throw a pebble before ducking to avoid being hit by an enemy rock and reaching down to grab another.

Along the outside of the "fight" circle the others were at war with themselves, aiming to hit anything that moved. Iris screamed in surprise as Guarnere suddenly jumped up from his hiding place and threw a large dirt clod at her before running off laughing like a maniac. She whipped off the dirt from her face with a grin and fall down beside Liebgott, who was hidden skillfully behind a fallen dead log.

"Spaß zu haben, ist Sie?" he asked, laughing as he chucked another pebble of the edge of the log. (Having fun are you?)

"Rechnung hat betrogen!" she informed him. Iris scanned the dirt around her before letting out an almost childish sound of happiness. She grabbed the dirt clod that lay a few feet away and glanced around looking for Bill. Not seeing him, Iris picked up more dirt clods and set them gently into the dip in her dress she created by holding both end corners in her hand. (Bill cheated!)

Joe gave a sarcastic gasp, giving Iris a no-he-didn't sort of look before tossing over another few pebbles. "Rache?" he asked, motioning towards the many dirt clods Iris had now stacked in the dip of her dress. (Revenge?)

An evil smile came over Iris as she nodded. "Rache." (Revenge)

--

Everything died down calmly after Luz and Malarkey had finally given up their war and decided to try and find food. Some had tried to continue the pebble war but without the heads of each side, it was mostly useless. The first watches had been sent out by Winters and nearly everyone else were making their way to their warm bedrolls. Otherwise known as foxholes.

Plans for the morning were unknown, but everyone figured it would be the same as every other day since D-Day. Get up, eat, move out, and take another town that would somehow free up another way into France. Sometime though, they would finally get new orders and hopefully move further inland. Until then, it was lather, rinse, and repeat until otherwise ordered.

Iris had been switching between Joe and Luz's foxholes every few nights. She had been fine staying with Luz until Skip Muck came to share the hole as well. She had been fine with it to begin with, Skip was a great guy and nice sense of humor, but when Iris had been kept up all night by his snoring it wasn't so nice anymore. That morning she had searched through the lines to find another person who wouldn't mind sharing with her.

Web had volunteered the moment she had mentioned anything but was sharing his hole with Roy Cobb already. Though Iris had only met the man once, Cobb didn't seem like the nicest man in the company. The idea of having to see him at the end of everyday didn't sound all that great. She had promised to keep Web's offer in mind but continued on to look for a foxhole to share.

After promising not to kick, snore, talk, and or walk in her sleep, Iris had convinced Joe to let her stay. Half the time he was off volunteering for night watch, but it was the thought that counted. It was also when Joe had time to teach Iris, while the others were trying to sleep they would be wide awake and talking late into the night.

A few times one of the officers would have to stop by and remind them to get sleep. Lipton had grown used to passing by during the early hours to find a book open on Joe's lap with Iris asleep on his shoulder. He didn't mind it, and neither did any of the others, as long as Joe still remembered when he was on watch and got enough sleep to still be of use in the field. So far there hadn't been a live reenactment of the "Night of the Bayonet".

--

Iris followed Joe as quietly as she could manage as they passed by the many foxholes of Easy Company. She watch as Joe somehow made it through the dark without making zero to no noise. Though as Iris followed behind him she stepped on every possible branch and leaf that was within the distance of her foot and Joe almost laughed at her sad attempts to keep quiet.

The clods of dirt had been discarded earlier but dirt could be seen beneath her nails. They were on their way to the foxhole they both called 'home' for the time being. It was between that of Eugene Jackson with Skinny Sisk and Malarkey with one of his buddies Iris didn't know. She didn't know either Jackson or Skinny very well, but they seemed nice enough. It wasn't as if Iris had had any long, deep, and personal conversations with any of the men of Easy. Speaking different languages sort of unhinged the ideas of any communication for the time being.

Iris jumped down somewhat gingerly into the foxhole, careful of her knee. The swelling had gone down since Gene had wrapped it, but was still about the size of the baseball Luz used to play with in the back yard. It wasn't a happy thought, but anything was better than what it had been before. The burns on her hands had faded away somewhat but faint red outlines still could be seen in the sunlight.

As Iris dropped her dirty and tattered bag to the ground, a loud shout resounded throughout the camp. Both she and Joe looked out over the edge of the hole and watched as people jumped from their holes and made their way over the unknown noise with curiosity. There had been no gunfire and no sounds of the enemy from the returning watch. It took only a few minutes before some of the men started coming back to their holes.

"What was it?" Mal called out from inside his hole. He hadn't even bothered to go and investigate, instead too enthralled by the book Shifty had lent him.

"Someone dug a hole and buried all of Guarnere's stuff," Skinny reported, jumping into his foxhole with a laugh. "All of his stuff is covered in dirt and muddy."

"No?" the man next to Mal called out sarcastically, "When you bury something it gets dirty? Who would've thought?"

"Shut up Hoobs," Skinny yelled, disappearing into his hole with a scowl. Jackson gave a laugh and patted his friend on the back.

Iris and Joe shared a knowing look of amusement as Malarkey's voice drifted over to them. "Whoever did that is in for a shit load of trouble. Hope they know what they're getting into."

The men's voices around them agreed before everything fell into silence. A few minutes later the light in Malarkey and Hoob's hole went out, leaving the entire section of woods in darkness.

Iris heard Joe shift around for a couple minutes as he got comfortable before he too fell quiet. She played with the dirt beside her and thought of what Malarkey had said. Iris doubted Bill would be very angry at her and secretly hoped that maybe he would retaliate in some way. Back when Luc had still lived at home, they would get into all sorts of "prank wars", some going on for months at a time. They both acted like it was the worst thing in the world, and they parents hated it but Iris had always loved them. It was a way to pass the time and it had always kept her on her toes; not knowing when or where Luc would attack.

As sleep started to claim her and her eyes started to drop, Iris hoped that even though they were in war, someone wouldn't forget their sense of humor at home. Especially someone like Guarnere, who could probably out run her and find a ditch or river to dump her in.

**-- In case anyone was wondering, I'm not much a dialog girl. I suck with finding creative ways for my characters to talk, so I simply describe _alot_.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:** This one is shorter than all the others, by quite a bit. But it was an important chapter that I thought should be left on its own.

**Kudos to: **

**WETSU: **We're all feeling better, finally. Glad to hear you like my writing.

**Unread-Letters: **Whoot! New reviewer, love to see those. I've been meaning to review on your story, **Warbrain**, I sort of love it. :)

**Webeta: **Another newbie! And yes, I'm using this online translator thing for the German. I'm a French student this year, so I can get most of that myself. I sort of thought it was weird it didn't keep Bill's name.. haha. Whoops. Thanks for letting me know about that though!

--

No, I don't hate you  
don't want to fight you  
know I'll always love you  
but right now I just don't like you  
No, I don't hate you  
don't want to fight you  
know I'll always love you  
but right now I just don't like you  
cause you took this too far

-Which to Bury; Us or The Hatchet, Relient K

--

**Chapter Six**

**France**

**June, 1944**

"My feet hurt," Perconte complained.

Nearly the entire company threw the man looks of annoyance as they continued to trek through a wooded area that supposedly let further into France. Iris didn't know for sure how long they had been walking but she did know that the sun hadn't even been up when they started and it was high overhead now. It didn't seem like they were getting any orders as to when they would finally stop either.

Small talk could be heard above the silence of the woods that didn't seem to have an end. It was lightly raining, but not enough for anyone to complain about. Except for Perconte, who had a complaint for nearly every part of their day. Luz had threatened to tape his mouth shut but he hadn't taken heed to his warning and found himself running from the taller man a few minutes later.

Colette was walking beside Iris, a tired look on her face. Her green eyes were dull from exhaustion and circles were forming around them in faint purple coloring. Iris knew she didn't look much better but still felt sympathy for her sister. At least she was getting good sleep at night, Cole barely slept at all anymore, too afraid something would happen during her moments of unconsciousness.

The two sisters had finally managed to spend some time together away from the men the night before while looking for edible berries close to camp. It hadn't been a long time, only an hour or so, but the two had quickly discussed everything from over the last few weeks. It hadn't been one of their greatest conversations to date but it had left Iris deep in though, even a day later.

--

_Iris skipped a few steps as she avoided a group of poison ivy that Colette had simply walked around. Her older sister shot her an amused look and continued on the search for berries that Nixon had been convinced would be edible. No one had argued against the Captain, seeing as he was the _intelligence_ officer. If he said there was food other than the rations and stew, that everyone was beginning to grow tired of, then Iris and Colette would scour the entire woods looking for it. They weren't fans of 'Stew Night' every night either._

"_How's everything been going on your side of the camp?" she inquired, scanning the bushes as they passed for any signs of berries._

"_Nothing much to report," Iris called. She swatted at the flies that flew around her face while trying to keep up with her sister. "Just a bunch of guys. Granted, they are some of the best men I've met, but still just men. Nothing overly special or amazing about them," she stopped to think for a moment, "Although Shifty has almost frighteningly good aim."_

_Cole gave her an exasperated look, "Not quite what I was going for."_

"_It's the truth though," Iris insisted. "They remind me a lot of Luc and Dimitri, in all honesty. They're still technically kids in some aspects. Mal can't think of anything other than getting a Luger and Joe's a comic book lover."_

"_Comics? Really?"_

_Iris nodded with a wide grin. "Flash Gordon."_

_Colette shook her head in amusement. The two walked side by side in silence for a few minutes. She let out a loud, excited squeal as she spotted a bush plump full of red berries. Cole grabbed the helmet in Iris' hands and quickly continued on to fill the helmet she had 'borrowed' from Joe Toye with the ripe berries. She left the still green ones behind, hanging from the branches dejected. They weren't technically in enemy territory and Nixon didn't think they were in any danger, so Iris didn't see why Joe needed his helmet anyways._

_Her sister slowly followed her lead, picking the ripe berries off and helping to fill the helmet. She bit her lip as a thought mulled over in her mind. _What if they were wrong?

_It was a thought that sent panic and shivers up Iris' spine and she stopped dead._

_Could everything they had been fighting for, protecting with their lives, and willing to die for, was really something that would in fact destroy them in the end? Was it really worth it? How many lives would they save in the end when they factored in the people who died to deliver the message in the first place? Had their lives been taken for a lost cause?_

_The thought of Luc dieing for a cause that was doomed from the beginning made Iris' stomach hurt. He wouldn't have risked everything for a broken promise, would he? Luc wasn't really that dumb or want to die that much, had he? She knew that their father wouldn't willing condemn his only son to an inescapable fate, would he? His son's life had to be worth more than a seemingly dead cause._

_Iris stopped abruptly, turning to face her older sister, a distressed look planted on her face. "What if we're doing the wrong thing?"_

_Colette looked at her, a berry half way up to her mouth. She dropped her hand to her side and gave a small sigh, turning back to the berries. "We promised Luc," Cole answered, hands turning red from the juice of the berries. "That should be enough, shouldn't it?"_

"_What if he was wrong?" Iris questioned, panic started to edge into her voice. "Maybe this was a bad idea and we're all going to die for something stupid that won't help anyone!"_

"_We aren't going to die," Cole said somewhat brightly which annoyed Iris._

_If anyone had the right to be pessimistic about the outcome of the war, it was Colette. Already, she had lost not only her younger brother, but both her parents, and husband. Luc and Dimitri by the same people who most likely were the ones who had promised to protect them, as brothers. Iris knew her parents were dead, they both had prices on their heads but wanted to try to run before being killed in their own home._

_Didn't Colette remember all those things? The things they had sacrificed for her father's cause? The lives given, the hours of labor, the secrets held tight in their souls. Did none of that matter anymore?_

"_Luc did," Iris shot back, anger overcoming the panic that had started rising within her, "Who's to say we won' t be next?"_

_Colette stared at her almost coldly, "I do. I refuse to die for this."_

"_I don't think you have a say in whether or not God wants to pull the plugs on our life, Cole," Iris said almost seriously. It wouldn't matter how much her sister wanted to believe they would make it through the great war unharmed, but in the end they had no control over how long their hearts would continue to beat._

"_I will _not _die now," Cole stated angrily, "Not in this war, not in this place. Not with these men. I will die an old lady, content with the company of Dimitri," her voice rose as she continued on with her raving, "and if he really _is_ dead then I'll buy a dozen cats and become an old hag! I'll sit in a rocking chair on my house porch and yell at the children being too loud playing the streets. I'll knit late into the night while listening to the radio!"_

_Iris took a step back from her yelling sister, stunned by her outburst._

"_But I will _not_ die here!" her voice quieted down as the anger left her face and sadness took its place, "We've come too far."_

_Colette gave her a last look of what Iris thought was misery before turning back to the berry bush, picking the berries off silently and throwing them forcefully into the upturned helmet. Iris stood still for a few moments, debating whether or not to say anything and quietly took her place next to Cole and helped to pick the bush clean of berries._

_About an hour later the two walked in silence back to the camp where they went their separate ways without a word._

--

The two sisters hadn't talked since then and Iris had been surprised when Cole had fallen into step with her during their all day trek. Web had given them confused looks at their silence but had respected them enough not to question it. Iris had been relieved at the lack of questioning, not sure how she would be able to answer any inquiries.

There was too much of her life that Web, or any of the other men, didn't know and Iris didn't have the courage to tell them. She didn't think she ever would. It had taken awhile, but Iris finally felt at ease with them. Liebgott had taught her enough that Iris could make small talk for the most part without making herself into a complete idiot. Luz had taken full advantage of it and was teaching her new words whenever Joe was on watch or was too tired to teach her more. The other men had warmed up to her, most reminded of the younger sisters they left behind in the states.

Iris knew that by telling anything would ruin everything. She was surprised that Winters and Nixon had taken the news so well when Colette had told them their story that first day. Though, the papers that Iris had stolen from the abandoned German outpost in Carentan had probably helped to warm them up a bit. Cole had turned them over while talking to them, though Iris doubted she had told the complete truth, simply a condescend version.

But even a bit of the truth would smother any chances to be trusted by the men of Easy, Iris was sure. The word **traitor **came to mind when ever she thought of even mentioning part of her past to either Joe or Web. Betraying their trust was something that Iris did not want to do, but she knew that by withholding her past, she was simply digging herself a bigger grave. It was only a matter of time before something happened that would blow her cover.

--

**Reviews are like heroine, feed the ever present addiction..**


	8. Chapter 8

**Holy Moses and damned bananas, so **_**very**_** sorry in the delay of updates. I know, five months is a rather long time for me to not update, but I hope to back to frequent updating once again. Thanks to everyone who's still along for the ride, your support is much appreciated. A bit more of a note at the end, but now onwards to the next chapter.**

I wish for the whole truth  
every time you speak.  
I'm thinkin' about how you care half as much for me  
While I watch you arrive, smoke cigarettes, sleep...

- The Wish, Gregory and the Hawk

**Chapter Eight**

Backcountry, France

D-Day plus 25

Iris stood patiently behind Webb as they waited for the signal to move. Harry Welsh, the First Lieutenant of Easy, knelt at the head of the company waiting for his own orders. They had been stopped for only a few minutes, scoping out the seemingly abandoned farm house less than a mile down from where everyone was stopped. No one looked too excited to keep on moving. Walking for almost three hours did that to a person after hiking the whole day before. Though no one complained except Perconte, but no one really listened to the man anymore.

Iris fell back out of the way as Nixon walked briskly towards the front of the company in a crouched position. She watched, along with many others, as he and Welsh talked for a few minutes before Welsh called out for volunteers. The occupied woods around the company were silent and Iris felt her heart sink. Volunteering was always bad. It almost always resulted in some sort of casualty. Just like every other part of the war.

She _hated_ volunteering. Though she'd only been with Easy for less than a month, most of the men had become close to her heart, and every time one of them volunteered, Iris had to watch them be carried away on a stretcher. Iris knew it wasn't a good idea in the slightest to become attached to Easy, but as the men had come to accept her as almost a younger sister, it was becoming harder and harder to wall in her heart.

"I'll go," Albert Blithe, a man that Iris didn't know all that well, called out. He didn't look overly excited to be going, but Iris doubted that anyone would look excited this far into the war.

It was amazing for it was only D-Day plus twenty-five. It felt like so many more, hundreds even. Iris had never before realized the amount of energy it went into being a soldier. And she wasn't even in combat! During all of the few small skirmishes that had occurred while Iris had been staying with Easy, someone had always been there to stuff her into a foxhole or hide her behind a tree out of harm's way. Not that she wanted to be in the thick of things, in fact Iris was perfectly fine with being more 'behind the scenes' of Easy. However, she did have new found respect for the men that had been generous enough to take her and her sister in.

Not many other people would do that. Most anyone else, even her own French people would've simply turned them away. They would've been forced to protect themselves against the onslaught of the battles and hope for the best. She knew that Cole would be fine on her own, she always was, but Iris knew herself. She wouldn't have been able to survive this far along into the War if it hadn't of been for Winters and his generosity.

As far as she was concerned, she owed that man her life if not more.

Iris ducked to the ground as a gun shot rang through the otherwise silent forest and covered her head with her hands. Voices called out around her and Iris could hear Cole's voice among them, trying to call out to Eugene for help. Iris stood up when Winters walked into the group and spoke with Harry. By the looks of Harry he was upset at the new causality, not that Iris blamed the man, he had just lost another man to Germans.

No, Blithe wasn't dead, but Iris knew what a neck wound did. He wouldn't be back.

Another Easy man had been taken by the enemy, and for all Iris and Colette knew, it could've been Dimitri. That thought scared Iris more than anything. To know that a man as close to her as a brother was fighting against her, possibly even killed already by one of the men surrounding her. Iris didn't want to think about it, to worry about every helmeted Nazi across the field firing on them could possibly be Dimitri, but she couldn't help herself from wondering.

Was she really on the right side?

--

Luz watched as Iris walked angrily away from her older sister, a perturbed look upon the older girl's face, while Iris looked worried. Colette shook her head as she watched her sister walked away but didn't move to follow the girl and turned back to her dishes. Sibling rivalry, George wondered as he stood up from the poker game he was currently losing and started over to where Iris was sitting, tearing apart an unsuspecting patch of weeds.

"_Stupid, ignorant, brash woman!" _Iris tore apart the weed in her hand, ringing it until the pulp inside dripped down her hand. She threw the weed to the ground in disgust and stomped on it, digging her heel into it and imagined it as Colette's perfect little face. _"Thinks she knows everything, just because she's the oldest! Stupid stupid girl!"_

Iris stopped short of ranting at the sound of someone clearing their throat behind her. She turned around to see Luz standing a few feet away from her, a laughing grin across his face with a dash of confusion in his eyes. Iris felt a blush crawl up her neck and swiped a hand across her forehead, whipping away the bangs that had fallen into her eyes.

"'Ello, Luz," Iris said in accented English, still a bit horrified someone had seen her somewhat childish tantrum. "'Ow are you?" She wiped her slightly dirtied hands on her skirt and looked at him abashed.

Luz gave a laugh and shook his head, walking up to the young French girl. "I'm good, bit tired though. All this walking is starting to wear me out. How are you?"

Iris shrugged her shoulders and looked away, knowing Luz was curious about her poor decimation of the weed. "_Ca va_.," she answered, giving nothing away. Luz gave her an unbelieving look and sat down on a nearby fallen tree, reaching up and grabbing Iris' hand before pulling her down beside him.

"You're not a very good liar," he told her with a small smile. Iris squirmed slightly and Luz's face turned serious. "Tell me."

Iris wanted to tell him everything, she really did. She wanted to tell him that her brother had stolen Top Secret documents from the Germans while being posted in Berlin. She wanted to tell George that her brother had almost died protecting his family, and how he'd left the stolen papers in her older sister's care. Iris wanted to tell him that she knew about the camps, the ones that held the Jews, the ones like the one Luc was in now because of his traitorous ways. She wanted to tell him everything, absolutely everything until there was nothing left hidden deep inside her soul. She wanted to tell him more than anything, to have someone beside her brave and untouchable sister know of her pain.

George looked at her, waiting in silence for her to speak. He wanted to help the girl, he knew she was hurting. But how could he help her if she wasn't willing to let him in?

Thoughts whirled through Iris' head, to tell or not to tell? She knew that by telling him, she risked everything that Colette had worked to bring them. All the safety, the security, it would all be lost to her selfishness. She didn't need to tell Luz, she only wanted to so that someone else could suffer along with her. What kind of friend would she to Luz if she told him only to cause him pain? He didn't deserve the burden of knowing.

Iris shook her head, ashamed of herself for even thinking of burdening one of the men who had risked his life to give her shelter. How could she have been so cruel?

"I fired zee toast," she said finally, giving Luz an embarrassed look, praying he wouldn't see through her horribly conducted lie. It was actually a half true statement; she had caught the toast on fire that morning, though she and Luz both knew it wasn't what he was talking about.

Luz looked at her, half confused. "You fired the toast?" Iris gave him a sidelong glance down the log and a small blush redden her cheeks. "You mean you _burned_ it," he corrected her with a laugh and pushed her gently on the shoulder. "Not much of a cook, are you?"

Pretty much all the men of Easy had learned fairly quickly that between the two sisters, Iris was not the better cook. In fact, Winters had jokingly banned her from cooking the rest of the time she stayed with them, much to her relief, along with everyone else's. That morning's toast had been a fluke. Cole had left her sister alone with the bread for a total of three seconds and turned back around to find the once considered edible bread burned to a crisp.

It was a talent of Iris'.

"Apple pie," Iris told him with a grin and waved a finger at him before leaping up from the log and started back towards the center of camp with a grin. She ran a few steps and stopped, looking back to see Luz still on the log. She shook her head at his confusion and walked back to him. Reaching down, Iris lightly tapped his hand and jumped away. "Tag."

Luz looked at her almost unbelievingly, not seeming to believe that the girl before him wanted to play _Tag_. They were in the middle of the Second World War, one of their friends had just been shot in the neck by a sniper, and Germans could be surrounding them at that very moment, but Iris didn't look like she cared. The little French girl that he had found with Webster hiding in a gardening shed didn't seem to care about the War going on around them, and the moment, her idea looked like a pretty good one.

--

Cole looked up from her notebook at the sounds of laughter and was surprised at the scene unfolding before her. Buck was chasing after a hyena laughing George Luz as he jumped over one of the center camp fires, causing many men to look at them affronted as their meals were interrupted, and dashed past her to hide behind a madly grinning Iris. She squealed loudly when Buck came to a slow halt in front of Cole's little sister. He darted forwarded and hit her lightly on the shoulder before running away.

Iris turned around with what she hoped was an angry face and looked at a grinning Luz. He took one look at her face and his smile disappeared. Raising his hands up in surrender he started backing away from the smaller girl while shaking his head.

"Oh, c'mon Iris!" Luz yelled, backing away a little faster and flashing the other men around them, which were all laughing at the unfortunate man, a look of annoyance. "You love me too much to tag me!"

Stopping to think, Iris looked at him thoughtfully and grinned wider. He looked at her and dropped his hands, thinking she was going to turn around and go after someone else. "I don't love you _that_ much, Luz," Iris announced, just as she whipped out a hand and smacking him in the gut before running towards where Webster and Malarkey were doubled over with laughter.

Luz stood still for a few moments, shocked that the little French girl had tagged him once again. He looked at the laughing men, a giggling Iris, and even to where Winters and Nixon were watching on with amusement. "I'm so going to get you, girl," Luz said to Iris, quickly chasing after her.

Cole watched on as Iris childishly stuck out her tongue before dashing off further into the camp, weaving around all of the foxholes with ease. She hid behind an unsuspecting Bill, who cursed out Luz when he was shoved aside to get to Iris. If a group of Germans walked into camp right now, they'd be confused to see that at least a dozen of the enemy were all prancing around like children.

The Germans wouldn't have even known that Easy Company was in a War that night. There was too much happiness and laughter for them to have been in the midst of a World War. All caused by one French girl who couldn't speak more than a few dozen words in English, and happened to be keeping a secret that could cost millions of people their lives.

But on that night, you wouldn't have known that.

--

**Note of Lack of Updates: **Okay, so once again, I am horribly sorry for the delay in updates. I got a new computer because the other one was.. erh, misplaced down a hallway. That meant I had to rewrite four of the chapters I already had written on my old laptop, and that wasn't exactly my idea of fun. It took me – five? – months to do it, but finally did. Yes, I'm lazy, so sue me.

**Note on Name Change: **I changed the penname. I was rather bored with my old one and all my friends were finally getting theirs.. So, I got a cool one. To be honest, I was quite upset when my friend took Elsie Jane Talben, which was one of my choices that I so stupidly shared with her, but Finley Ann Miles was good enough for me.

**Note on Romance: **People have been asking me this before, is Iris going to end up with anyone in Easy? I'm actually kind of tempted to do so, and even have a few guys in mind, but ultimately it's up to you readers. I can make this go either way, love or not, so if you would just leave your much needed opinion in a review (or PM) it would be much appreciated.

**Note on Pictures: **Ha, yes my little friends, I have Iris and Colette pictures at the ready. Still debating if I'm going to put them on my profile, so right now if you want them just ask for them and I'll send the link to you.

**Alright, that's everything for now. Reviews are always loved and thanks again to those who're still along for the ride. I'll be trying to update all my stories on the weekends, so be on the lookout. **

**xxfin**


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